Opening Day for me was a preview of all the crazy goodness to follow in 2017. That game had everything--stellar pitching, dramatic heroics off the bats, plays made, top 3 guys in the lineup doing the whole OBP thing we all dreamed of during the off season, and best of all, beating the Cubs. We got to Lester a few times and got to their bullpen. We overcame a rare dud performance from Oh to win the game. After all the emotions of the Opening Day ceremonies combined with Yadi's extension, the game was the icing on the cake of that day. Beautiful day.
Then we had an off day. I'll tell you I have a strong dislike for off days during a series. I know it was planned and that is out of my hands, but the momentum has a hard time carrying through when there's an off day. Exhibit 1 of that is Game 2.
Now, not all was lost in Game 2. Wainwright pitched well, with 6 strikeouts, 2 runs, 2 walks in 5 innings pitched. His opponent average was only .167. He famously spiked a ball awkwardly to avoid injuring Yadi, but overall, he showed a lot of life and pitched well. Other than that, some wheels started to wobble. Our top 3 guys had a difficult time doing their OBP thing. Carp continued his struggles against Arrieta, Dex seemed a little lost at the plate and Diaz was kept off the bases as well. To be fair, the team only managed a few hits off Arrieta. The Cubs managed only a few off Wainwright as well. It was another 1 run low scoring game in the making from the first inning. We had a couple defensive miscues, notably a throw home that should have gone to third. Last but definitely not least, poor Piscotty had the worst trip around the bases possibly in the history of baseball, getting hit 3 times by ball. After passing all concussion protocols and other tests, he is fine though, thankfully, and played today.
Losing 2-1 didn't feel awesome, but I felt we were in it the whole time. With strong pitching from Wainwright and Bowman especially, I never felt the game was out of reach.
Today's game started off great. We pounced on Lackey for 3 runs playing small ball. As always, it's fun to see Lackey frustrated. It's fun to see any Cubs frustrated, but with Lackey it feels special. It warms my heart.
Unfortunately, the fun would only last so long. The Cards' offense left the building after those first few runs and their bullpen held it down today, unlike Sunday. In left field, we were sporting a change of scenery. If only it were for fun...a wild whimsical fancy that would only happen in Spring Training. In real life, what actually happened was far from whimsical. It was not a ballet out there, I'll tell you that. Multiple gifs exist of the mighty fall. It wasn't pretty and I hope that was the final nail in the coffin of Adams in left field. I fear it was not, but I'll still foolishly hope anyway. Grich had another blunder in left once he moved back there. Cecil has temporarily forgotten how good he can pitch and has opened the season with an ERA of 36.00. The Cubs won the game and that will be that. I can only stay in the cold, deep waters of negativity so long before I have to swim back to warmer, shallow waters where you can feel the sun.
I'll hit ya with a hearty helping of positivity and optimism to end this opening series recap of sorts.
~Lynn pitched very well for his first time back on the mound officially since Tommy John surgery. He showed a lot of that same Lance Lynn fire and had good velocity which was comforting
~Wainwright had a solid first game, with almost the same line as Arrieta. An ERA in the 3 range to start the season and 6 strikeouts in one game are positive signs. I'm feeling good about Adam this season.
~*Non Cardinal fun fact* Bryant is batting .000 to start the season. Now, that's what I think is cute.
~Carlos is amazing. He was dominant in his first outing, full of all that passion, fire and energy we all love. He's going to be on fire in 2017.
~Bowman is strong out of the bullpen and is quickly getting recognized for his efforts. Nice to see.
~Our offense's positives: we had some deep counts going fairly often in the 3 games, a few hard hit balls, some small ball and a few batting heroics. We'll build off of these moments for better outcomes this weekend.
~All 3 games were close and honestly, I think they all will be this season. The Cubs showed they were mortal, which if listening to MLB or ESPN, you may not have known was possible. Their rotation showed some weaknesses and their bullpen did as well, so I'm excited to see the Cards keep the fight alive in every game.
Here's hoping for a productive, spirited, well oiled machine type of series win against Cincinnati! LET'S GO CARDS!!!
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